Coating film transfer tools for transferring a coating film of a correction tape or a glue tape to a transfer-receiving surface are now indispensable as stationery. In general, a coating film transfer tool includes a transfer tape made up of a coating film and a base tape, a feed spool around which an unused transfer tape is wound, a transfer head with which the transfer tape is pressed against a sheet of paper or the like, a take-up spool which takes up only the base tape from which a coating film has been transferred to a transfer-receiving object and a rotation transmitting means for transmitting a rotation of the feed spool to the take-up spool.
In a coating film transfer tool of the type, in case flexing is caused in a transfer tape, the transfer of a coating film may not be implemented properly. Because of this, a tension needs to be applied to the transfer tape at all times so that the transfer tape is kept tensioned. Consequently, rotational speeds of a take-up spool and a feed spool are adjusted so that the rotational speed of the take-up spool is faster than the rotational speed of the feed spool. However, when an amount of the transfer tape wound around the feed spool is decreased whereas an amount of a base tape wound around the take-up spool is increased, an amount of the base tape to be wound around the take-up spool every time the take-up spool rotates one full rotation is increased. Because of this, a difference between the feed amount and the take-up amount that is caused by the difference in rotational speed becomes large, and the transfer of the coating film may be difficult. Therefore, to deal with this, a rotational speed adjusting means is provided in the coating film transfer tool which causes the feed spool to slip so that the whole rotation of the feed spool is not transmitted to the take-up spool.
In the coating film transfer tool, the slipping amount of the feed spool by the rotational speed adjusting means changes from the start of using where the residual amount of unused tape is large towards the end of using where the residual amount of unused tape is small. Therefore, a load necessary to feed the unused transfer tape is increased towards the end of using the coating film transfer tool. Consequently, a load adjusting means may be provided from time to time for adjusting the load necessary to feed the transfer tape so that the load is maintained constant.
When the rotational speed adjusting means and the load adjusting means are provided in the coating film transfer tool, however, the number of components of the coating film transfer tool is increased, leading to a problem that the production costs are increased and the assemblage of components becomes difficult. To cope with this, JP-A-2009-166439 (Patent Document 1) proposes a load adjusting means in which an elastic arm is provided on a feed spool, and by this elastic arm being loosely fitted in a circular groove in a case, a slip torque is generated between the elastic arm and a wall surface of the circular groove. Namely, in this proposal, compared with a case where a member is provided separately as a load adjusting means, the number of components can be reduced by causing the feed spool and the case to function as the load adjusting means.
In addition, Patent Document 1 also proposes a configuration in which a circular groove is formed in a feed-side gear which transmits the rotation of the feed spool to a take-up spool, and an arm of a clutch member which doubles as a rotational shaft of the feed spool is loosely fitted in the circular groove in the feed-side gear so that a rotational speed adjusting means is made up of the feed-side gear and the clutch member. Namely, in this proposal, the number of components can be reduced by causing the feed-side gear to double as the rotational speed adjusting means.